Nothing
by Miratete
Summary: When Mary marries one of the Hero's Duty soldiers, Gene suddenly realizes how empty his life has always been. The beautiful women and cold martinis haven't satisfied. And yet it's all been his own fault. Warnings: Contains cocktails and candy cigarettes.


**Author's Note:**

This story is set six months after "Filling In the Empty Spots" and does contain spoilers for that story. You may want to read it first (at least Chapter 8: "Breakdown." Events in Chapter 11: "The Summer Solstice Ball" are also referred to.) so you know why the Nicelanders are living in other games, why Vanellope "isn't herself," and why Ralph is married to Jubileena Bing Bing.

Or you can be brave and forge ahead, not caring why things are as they are. Cheers!

-o-o-o-o-o-

**Nothing**

-o-o-o-o-o-

Gene stared at the paper in his hand. And then he read it for the hundredth time. And then he grabbed the bottle of dry vermouth and the bottle of gin off of the mirror-backed bar. "Mayor Gene, you're a fool," he told himself on catching his reflection. For a moment he stared at it, questioning himself, but when the questions became painful, he grabbed the cocktail shaker and began making himself a martini, the first of what was sure to be many that day.

King came in, one of her fingerless gloves between her teeth as she tugged its mate into place and snapped it shut at the wrist. "What a night," she mumbled through the glove. "Mai and Leona are not to be trusted." And then she giggled. "Nor is Heidern. Don't let that soldier-cold, all-business face fool you. That guy knows how to party." As she tugged on the second glove she noticed the paper on the bar's top. "What's this?" she asked, picking it up.

"Oh, I just got an invitation to a wedding. Someone I used to know."

King read aloud. _"The pleasure of your company is requested at the marriage of Mary, of Hero's Duty, formerly of Fix-It Felix, Jr. to Private Marco, of Hero's Duty, on Sunday, the sixteenth of November, at ten o' clock in the evening. Ceremony to be held in Hero's Duty in the chapel. Reception to follow in Sugar Rush at the castle."_

Gene quickly emptied the shaker into a glass.

"Former gamemate of yours. How nice."

"Yeah..."

King put the invitation down and turned to primp her blonde hair in the mirror. His tone of voice revealed volumes. "Former girlfriend?"

Gene drained the glass in his hand in one go.

"I see," said King. She was used to the nearly omnipresent martini in her bartender's hand. But he always sipped them—savored them. "All right. So what happened between you and this Mary?"

"Nothing. Nothing happened."

"Nothing?"

"That's the problem. Nothing."

King opened the cocktail shaker and filled it again, and then she grabbed a glass for herself and gestured to the table closest to the bar. "Come have a drink with me, Big Gene."

Gene followed her, dragging his feet each step off the way.

"So what's with this 'nothing' that happened?" she asked, filling their glasses when they were seated.

"Just that. Nothing. We dated. We flirted. And that was all."

"So you dated and flirted. If that was all, then why is it eating you up inside that she's getting married? Was something supposed to happen?"

Gene's head fell into his hands. "I always thought something would, and that we were just taking it nice and slow, and that in time we'd fall in love," he confessed in a frustrated tone.

"Gene, your game was plugged in for thirty-three years. That's well beyond nice and slow..."

He sighed heavily. "Yes...and I just let it all slide by as if there was always another tomorrow." He suddenly downed his untouched drink.

King leaned back into the booth's padding. "Okay, so she got away. Big deal. You're not exactly lonely are you? You've got friends everywhere and you've been dating both Sally and Elizabeth and a few other ladies as well. Leona had some nice things to say about you last night, you know."

His eyes lit up for a moment. Leona could be rather appealing when she cleaned herself up a little and dropped her militaristic attitude. But then he looked sadly into his empty glass. "Yeah, well, that's true. But none of them are Mary."

King refilled Gene's glass. "This Mary must be someone pretty special."

"She is. We Nicelanders were all programmed to bake pies in our game, but Mary...she was the best. There was just something about her. Her crusts were flakier. Her fillings were fluffier. Her lattices always came out perfect. Cakes...she made amazing cakes. And that was just her baking. She was always so nice to everyone and so patient. If I was angry she always knew what to say to calm me down. If I was bitter, she would only have to smile and I'd forget everything that was troubling me. And now she's marrying some jarhead from _Hero's Duty_." He brushed away the tears that were forming in his eyes, not wanting to cry over it. "I'm a fool, Boss. I should have tried harder when I had the chance, and now it's too late."

King reached around the booth and took his hand, squeezing it comfortingly. "Gene, in the time you've been here, I don't think you've ever opened up like that before."

Gene looked up at her, and then suddenly brushed away a few more tears, a motion she did not miss. "Look, if you want, take today off. Sally and Elizabeth can run the stage just fine."

Gene straightened bravely. "I just have to get a grip and convince myself that it's no big deal."

"Are you sure?"

Gene reached for the martini shaker and emptied the last into his glass. "I'll be fine. Thank you."

-o-o-o-o-o-

Despite regrets, Gene went to the wedding, King on his arm, and he sat with all the former Nicelanders. It was something of a reunion, much as it had been at Ralph's wedding a year ago. Ralph was there as well, his red-haired child-bride sitting beside him looking rather doll-like as always.

"Where's Felix and the sergeant?" Gene asked the former wrecker. "This is their game."

"She's outside with a few of her men patrolling for Cy-Bugs," Ralph smirked. "I'm sure she'll be here shortly. And Felix, well, you'll see him soon."

Within a minute Calhoun and some of the other Marines, all in full battle dress, came in, delivering a nervous-looking man in a dress uniform up to the front of the chapel. The sergeant punched him lightly in the shoulder as she moved to her post at the side.

"Oh, just look at him," giggled Nell from the pew in front of Gene and Ralph. "He looks so smart, all cleaned up like that."

"He does look handsome, doesn't he," sighed Deanna. "Mary is such a fortunate lady. Though took him a while to get over his shyness and ask her to go steady."

Gene's stomach twisted.

"That was at the Summer Solstice Ball that Princess Vanellope hosted. And after that, they were inseparable."

"And they only decided to get married a month ago."

"Well I guess if I could marry Jubileena here, he figured it wouldn't be so bad to marry a little lady," Ralph chuckled.

Jubileena squeaked and clutched his arm happily.

Gene winced, thinking back to the Summer Solstice Ball. He'd stunned the Nicelanders by showing up with Sally and Elizabeth, himself looking and acting like a pint-sized James Bond. He'd been so smug and confident, and had hoped to impress Mary and make her jealous. But now he found out that his plan had apparently backfired.

The music started and Mary came down the aisle, escorted by Fix-It Felix, Jr. "Oh! Look at her! She's so lovely!" squealed the Nicelander ladies. "Look at that dress! That veil!"

Gene's throat tightened uncomfortably. Mary was indeed a vision of bridal loveliness. But that should have been him standing up at the altar instead of some big blond lunk who would probably squash her at some point on their honeymoon, or at least break one of her hip bones.

But no. He'd let thirty-three years slip away. Heck, he'd even used the breakdown of his game as an excuse to stall for time. And Ralph...Ralph, that big muscle-handed oaf, had instead used it to his advantage and gotten a wife out of it.

Gene fought back tears again as Mary took the soldier's hand and smiled up at him.

King must have noticed, for suddenly she patted him on the thigh comfortingly.

-o-o-o-o-o-

At the reception Gene tried to lose himself in the loud music and alcohol. He'd already lost his date to the dance floor. She was out there for every song, though her dance moves were pretty much a strung together line of her fighting moves.

Mary and Marco, the beaming newlyweds, sat together at the head table, hands clasped as if the world would end should they let go. The Nicelander ladies kept tittering about how cute they looked together and how lucky Mary was to land a nice young man like that, and how pretty she looked in her wedding gown. Princess Vanellope, the hostess of the party, flitted about in one of her many pink dresses chatting with everyone. The Nicelander men were starting up a betting pool on who would be the next to marry.

A chime rang, and through two double doors the castle kitchen staff rolled in an enormous wedding cake. It stood taller than the bride and was adorned with dozens of fuchsia-colored frosting roses and pink ribbon trim. At the very top was placed a sugar statuette of the bride and groom. But instead of a tuxedo or his dress uniform, the figurine wore black battle armor. His assault rifle hung in one hand, and he had his bride cradled in the other, the long white train of her gown draping down to pool about his feet.

Everyone applauded and asked Mary if she'd made the cake, which she had.

Gene couldn't take it any more. He excused himself from the knot of Nicelanders and stepped outside.

It was night in _Sugar Rush_, and from the castle balcony, he could look out over the kingdom. To his surprise Ralph and two of the _Sugar Rush_ avatars were out there already, smoking candy cigarettes. "Gene, hey, had enough fun in there?" asked Ralph. "This guy was the mayor in my original game," he announced to the others.

"Hey, I'm Rancis Fluggerbutter," said the boy, holding out his hand to Gene. "Nice to meet you."

Gene shook it politely while nodding to the girl.

"I'm Taffyta," said the girl in pink, a lit cigarette and a sticky lollipop both dangling out of one hand.

The boy held out a package of candy cigarettes to Gene, who waved them away politely.

"What brings you out here, Ralph?" asked Gene.

"Just taking a break from the fun, like you. It was getting a bit...stuffy in there. You?"

"Yeah, I was just catching up with these two. Even though I live here I actually don't spend much time with the citizens," Ralph laughed.

The four chatted lightly, but when the two racers went inside, Ralph looked hard at the mayor. "I was kinda surprised to see you at the wedding actually," he said. "I know you and Mary used to date a bit."

"Yeah, but nothing ever happened between us. I think the furthest we got was she kissed me on the cheek."

"I see. I guess we all thought something would happen."

"So did I. But I guess it's not to be," Gene sighed. "But hey, what's it matter? Now she's got someone and they're obviously very much in love. And Felix has Calhoun and you've got Jubileena, and most of the other Nicelanders have hooked up with someone."

"Gene," Ralph said in a low voice. "Don't beat yourself up over it."

Gene blinked. How could Ralph know his feelings? "Why shouldn't I? I wasted thirty-three years thinking Mary and I would get together eventually, and now that's not going to happen."

"Thirty-three years is a long time," Ralph commented, stubbing out his cigarette.

Suddenly there came a loud tapping at the window and they both looked over to see Jubileena standing there waving at her husband. Ralph grinned foolishly and waved back at her, at which point she opened the door and leaned out. "Honey, you're going to miss getting a piece of cake! Come on in."

"All right sweetie. I'll be in in just a minute. Go find me a big plate, will ya?"

"All right," she laughed and went back inside.

"You don't have to rub it in," Gene glared at Ralph.

"Well it's not like today was doomsday for you. Mary wasn't the last woman out there, you know. And hey, it just goes to show you that if I could find someone, you certainly could."

"Yeah, yeah. I know that. And it's not like I'm desperate. I've dated about half the women over on my side of the arcade now." King had said the same thing.

"See. Not a problem."

"But they're not Mary. She's just...just so special."

"And now she's going to make someone else very happy."

"Yeah..."Gene growled.

Ralph patted Gene on the shoulder. "Buck up, big guy. There'll be someone else that comes along, and maybe this time you won't drag your feet." He went back inside the castle, leaving Gene alone on the balcony.

Sighing, Gene peered in through the window where he could see Mary and Marco eating a slice of cake together—two forks on one plate.

So much for his happily ever after. It had been standing knocking at his door all these years and he'd just let it stand there knocking. He lifted his glass to his lips and on finding it empty he sighed. Ralph and King were right. It was his fault.

Next time...next time things would be different.

-o-o-o-o-o-

**The End**

-o-o-o-o-o-

_Wreck-It Ralph _and all related concepts, characters, worlds, and events are property of Walt Disney Pictures. King and all related concepts and characters are property of SNK Playmore. Original characters and story elements are property of E. Potter, writing under the pen name of Miratete.


End file.
